POLISHING TIPS & TECHNIQUES

HELPFUL TIP: Use LED waterproof lighting along the back edge of the glass to illuminate the front edge being polished. This is a must for anyone who is new to polishing glass. This will help you see all the pits and scratches along the edge of the glass.

STEP 1 Start off with a 50 grit wet 4” polishing pad to take waterjet lines out of glass. Focus on the center of the edge, not the top or bottom, making sure to use a lot of water! Apply medium to heavy pressure. Continuous motion is a must, do not stay in one place for an extended period. Most of the time you can remove the lead-in/lead-out lines left by the waterjet with this pad. If you need to be more aggressive, use a 50 grit 4” dry polishing pad but use it WET. If you use too little water your polishing pads will glaze over. In order to deglaze your polishing pad, use the dressing brick. Your pads are glazed over if they aren't as aggressive and appear to give you a finish of a higher grit pad.

STEP 2 Move to the 100-grit wet 4” polishing pad. Use the 100 grit to remove most of the pitting caused by the 50-grit pad. You should see clarity coming through the glass while wet. Again, make sure to use lots of water and a continuous motion while polishing. Medium pressure! Get rid of lines left behind by the 50-grit. You will still have swirls left behind, but they will be finer. Pay attention to the far ends of the edges (top & bottom), these areas are easy to miss. Note: Use a 100 grit 4” polishing pad if you are making a large profile such as a beveled edge or large radius. Do not start at a 45-degree angle, otherwise chipping can occur. Use a more aggressive angle at the start, keeping your angle closer to the horizontal or vertical surface and NOT at a 45-degree angle.

STEP 3 Move to the 400 grit 4” polishing pad. Again, use lots of water with continuous motion. This is the 2nd most important pad when it comes to a quality finish. Remove all pitting and deep swirling left behind by the 100-grit polishing pad. You should be able to see the slurry coming off the pad onto the surface of the glass. If you see an excessive amount of the color of your pad in the slurry and it is not decreasing, you need to go back to the previous step. Medium to high pressure. At this stage, you will start working on your profile. Work the edge from the surface down to the edge. Do not start at a 45-degree angle. Otherwise, chipping can occur. Use a more aggressive angle at the start, keeping your angle closer to the horizontal or vertical surface, and NOT at a 45-degree angle. Break the edge before polishing at a 45-degree angle. At this point, you have established your 45-degree beveled edge.

STEP 4 Move to an 800 grit polishing pad. This is the MOST IMPORTANT PAD! Still aggressive but still leaves a good finish. Use this pad to remove any leftover pits and scratches. You will spend the most time using this pad. At this point, you will have a good finish but there will be a haze still on the glass. Go over the profile lightly. Medium pressure with lots of water! Technically you could move to cerium oxide after this step, but we recommend using the 1500 and 3000 grits as you will use less cerium oxide, save time, and have a better finish.

STEP 5 Move to the 1500 grit polishing pad. Still focus on the center of your edge. It will clean/polish the top and bottom areas of the edge easily, but time and care must be taken on the center/middle of the edge. Again, go over your bevel/eased edge. Medium pressure on the profile. You can use less water at this point. Your edge will still have a light haze to it but less than after the 800 grit. The bevel/eased should be shiny at this point.

STEP 6 Move to the 3000 grit polishing pad. The same steps apply to the 3000 grit as with the 1500 grit. Your bevel/eased profile should be done at this point. The edge will be shiny, but the center/middle of your edge will still be a little dull/hazy.

STEP 7 Finally, attach your felt buff pad to the Diarex Backup Head. Turn the polisher so the pad surface is facing up. With the polisher off, place your hand over the water discharge hole and turn the water valve on to completely saturate the felt pad with water. Now remove your hand from the felt pad and turn on the polisher for a split second, allowing the excess water to fly off. Now, take a marble-sized amount of cerium oxide polishing compound to the felt buff pad and spread it around to the center/middle of the felt pad. Make sure to work in the cerium oxide polishing compound into the Felt Buff Pad. Do not worry about the outer edges as they will work their way out during polishing. Before starting the polisher, apply the pad to the edge of the glass. This will allow you to conserve your cerium oxide polishing compound. Use light to medium pressure. The more water, the more pressure. Apply just enough water to keep the glass cool, but not so much that you are losing all your cerium oxide from your pad. As you polish, you will need to increase the amount of water to keep the glass cool. This will take multiple steps of reloading the felt pad with cerium oxide. Polish until you have a mirror finish. Use the reflection of light around you to inspect your edge.